Photos of Fireworks Sliced in Half Reveal the Chemistry that Ignites the Sparks

For his series titled "Boom City", photographer Andrew Waits documented the incredible variety of fireworks sold north of Seattle, Washington in the Tulalip reservation. Each year on the 4th of July, thousands of people make a mad dash through the booths that make up Boom City to collect the best bargains on cherry bombs, bottle rockets, firecrackers, and roman candles. Waits decided to slice the fireworks lenghtwise, exposing the surprisingly colorful compositional make-up of each.